Fantasy Football Mailbag Column: Week 4 Season-Long and DFS

Week 4 has brought the first outbreak of COVID-19 in the NFL. With the Titans having multiple players and staff test positive, their matchup with the Steelers has been postponed. As things currently stand, all other games are set to proceed as normal. Let’s dive into some questions that came in for the remaining matchups. If you have a question that you’d like answered in next week’s column, reach out to me on Twitter @rotomikebarner.

Fantasy Football Mailbag Column: Week 4 Season-Long and DFS

Start Drew Brees or Jared Goff? – @stevenwang25

Both players have favorable matchups from a fantasy perspective. Goff will take on the Giants, who were torched last week by a 49ers’ offense that was without their starting quarterback, running back and tight end, not to mention their top wide receiver Deebo Samuel (foot). Facing Goff and his full compliment of weapons could be a nightmare.

Meanwhile, the Saints will take on a Lions defense that has allowed the third-most rushing yards per game in the league. Since teams have been able to run on them with ease, they haven’t needed to throw much, which has resulted in the Lions allowing only 237 passing yards per game. The Saints could also be without Michael Thomas (ankle) again, and even if he does play, he could be limited. This has the makings of a heavy Alvin Kamara game, so I’d pass on Brees and roll with Goff instead.

Need help at RB2 this week. I have Adrian Peterson, James White, J.K. Dobbins, Chase Edmonds and Carlos Hyde. Could also use one of those options at the flex over N’Keal Harry. I’m leaning towards starting Peterson and White. Who would you start? – @paullighttimlin

Let’s check in with Alex Baker to get his answer to this question.

As ugly as it sounds, I would start Peterson and Harry. Peterson is the only guy who has a chance to lead his team in snaps, and the matchup against Arizona is decent. Harry has been targeted 25% of the time he’s run a route so far this year. That’s really high usage and provides a lot of value even if he hasn’t lit up the fantasy scoreboard yet. – Alex

Would you fade any of the top running backs in DFS this week like Aaron Jones or Dalvin Cook? – @Jacob06707546

The one top-tier running back that I plan to fade this week is Austin Ekeler. He has a tough matchup against the Bucs, who were strong against the run last season and have followed that up by allowing the third-fewest rushing yards per game this year. Ekeler will still be heavily involved in the passing game, but his contributions on the ground might not make him worth his lofty salary.

The one top running back that I am targeting is Alvin Kamara. He’s off to an excellent start, posting 438 total yards and six touchdowns. Now he’ll face a Lions team that has allowed the third-most rushing yards per game. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Should I start A.J. Green, Tee Higgins or Jamison Crowder? – @kadenroumayah

I already responded to Kaden on this one since Crowder played Thursday, but I still think it’s worth discussing whether or not to start Green or Higgins since other fantasy managers might be faced with the same situation. Higgins provided the big stat line in Week 3, catching five of nine targets for 40 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Green caught five of six targets for 36 yards.

While his numbers haven’t been great, the good news with Green is that he’s received 28 targets already. I think he’ll improve as he becomes more comfortable playing with Joe Burrow, which should help improve his catch rate. With the expectation that Green will likely receive more targets than Higgins will over the course of the season, he’s the safer play this week.

I was offered Dalvin Cook and A.J. Green for James Robinson and Keenan Allen. I keep thinking that I need to sell high on Robinson. If I make the trade, my top two running backs would be Cook and Christian McCaffrey. What do you think? – @jtory79

It doesn’t get much more exciting than the prospects of having Cook and McCaffrey during the fantasy playoffs. For that reason, I’d make the deal. Robinson has been good out of the gate and should remain productive as the Jaguars’ featured running back, so selling high on him isn’t exactly a necessity. With that being said, he’s not in the same stratosphere as Cook is. Going from Allen to Green is a clear downgrade at wide receiver, but the difference in Cook over Robinson helps make up for it.

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Author

Mike Barner

I’ve been covering fantasy sports since 2007. Along my journey, I’ve contributed to companies including SportsLine, RotoWire, Sports Illustrated and DraftKings. My passion for fantasy sports began by playing in traditional season-long leagues and has expanded into DFS and sports handicapping. In 2018, I was a finalist for the 2018 FSWA Basketball Writer of the Year award. You can contact me by e-mailing [email protected].